A Pirates Life For Me
by FunFlirtyFlute
Summary: Lily Evans,the daughter of a deceased captain takes to sea again, but this time she finds pirates are about to board her life. Meet James Potter, the handsome pirate captain, Sirius and Remus. The catch, James Potter hates women.... LXJ review!
1. Setting Sail

A Pirates Life for Me

A Pirates Life for Me

**Authors Note:**

**Hey, I was inspired by some of the Lily and James pirate stories and decided to write one of my own. Please read and tell me what you think. If this sounds like your story or someone else's that you've read please inform me IMMEDIATELY. I don't want to be accused of plagiarizing. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter sniff sniff or the characters, if I did James would be my husband, that all belongs to J.K. Rowling. But I do own the plot of my story. **

Lilly Evans stood at the railing of the ship, watching the hustle and bustle of London's Port. The wind tossed her red hair in her face and in front of her emerald green eyes.

She felt, rather then heard a person come up behind her. "Aye, Thomas?" She asked. She had a feeling she knew where the conversation would be going.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked wearily.

"Thomas, you've been my mentor since I first met you on this ship with my father, when I was six. You should know by now that once I make up my mind about something I hardly ever change it."

"Aye lass, stubborn, like your father were ye are. But with our former captain, your father dead I cannot offer you the same protection on this ship that he could. Though, as his first mate, I am now captain, I am not sure you are safe onboard this ship any longer."

Lily turned around before making her reply, smiling, and looked Thomas straight in the eye. "Thomas, you know that I can take care of myself, I've been on this ship since I was 6, my father started teaching me how to fence at age seven. You taught me how to throw knives and fight with them till I can beat anyone on board at a contest. I can get out of handcuffs and rope bonds. I know street fighting and boxing, and I can use pretty much every gun invented. I also know that _you _know I can do that, so tell me, what's really bothering you?"

Thomas chuckled, "You know me too well lass, and aye, your right, it's not you that I really worry about. Truthfully it's these new men we had to hire on since the battle." Lily flinched, remembering that awful battle where her father had been killed. They were attacked by French privateers claiming they were in their waters, 'bloody Frogs,' she thought.

"Anyway," continued Thomas, snapping her out of her reverie, "these men don't look very friendly, I am concerned for the effect a female on board will have on them."

Lily smiled sweetly, "Remember the last time someone tried to do that to me, the baker's lad in London?" Her smile changed to a dark menacing one, "He woke up the next day with a broken nose, cracked ribs, and a shattered wrist bone." She sighed and looked up at Thomas, widening her eyes for effect, "Now the baker won't even serve me, I can't imagine why."

Thomas laughed; such an impertinent yet endearing child, and only just 17. "Your right Lily, I'm silly to worry about you."

"Nah," she spoke and gave him a hug, "that's why I love you." Thomas smiled, he would do anything for this lass, she was the closest thing to a daughter he ever had.

--

The sun was setting over London as once again Lily watched. She thought the color in the sky was the perfect way to honor their departure from land. She watched without a word as _The Emerald_ slowly, but getting faster and faster, slipped away from the shore. She sighed, finally at peace, finally at home.

--

Lily woke with the six o'clock the next morning. Tying back her long red hair she quickly dressed in breeches and a shirt which she tucked in. She pulled on her shoes and walked to the galley.

"Hey Leno," she called as she took a biscuit and a mug of coffee from the table.

The cook, who was placing pots and pans in their respective shelves stood up. "Aye lass, it's good to see you, those of us old ship men were afraid Thomas would force you to stay behind."

"Now Leno," she said placing her hands on her hips imperiously, "you know that no one, not even Thomas can force me to do anything."

Leno looked at her and smiled, "right lass, we forgot you is about as stubborn as a mule." She looked at him, her lips twitching and he tried to hide a smile, failing miserably. The both burst out laughing. Lily smiled, she loved Leno. He was not your stereotypical cook, instead of being short and fat, he was tall and lean with a thin face. But his face almost always had a smile and his watery blue eyes almost always held a twinkle.

When she could finally breathe Lily, with her eyes shining skipped out the door calling, "I better get on deck, you never know what's in store."

As she made it topside, Lily practically danced on deck. This was where she belonged. Under the sun and the blue skies, with the ship rocking beneath her feet, the salt wind in her hair. She ran over to the netting and shimmied up it very fast. She leaned over the edge, just smelling the air. She smiled to herself, remembering her nickname 'monkey' from the old crew members.

It was a right fitting name too. She didn't boast or anything but she knew she was the fastest rigging climber in close to all of London. She had hawk like eyes and could see very far away, which is why she was used as a lookout. Heights didn't bother her at all. She relished them.

Looking to her left she grabbed the rope, swinging to the opposite side of the ship before letting go, and grabbing another one while still in thin air.

The crew members on the deck that knew her smiled and shook their heads. That girl would never change, they thought as she swung all the way around the ship, never letting her feet touch the ground. She was always monkeying about in the rigging. The likes of her had never been seen before, it was like she had been born in the air or on the sea. The crew members who didn't know her looked at each other and muttered darkly.

Lily spotted Thomas and smiled inwardly, she was going to give him a surprise, and the new crew member he was talking to. Swinging her way down the deck she swung till she was right above them before dropping to land in a crouch right at Thomas' feet.

The new crew member swore and jumped backwards while Thomas shook his head. Having been with Lily for a long time, he was used to all her antics.

"Lily," he gently scolded, trying to keep the smile off of his face, "what have I told you about doing that."

She smiled mischeviously, "not to, sir."

"Now why do I tell you not to do that?"

"Because it frightens people," she said with a smirk, standing up and looking at the new crew member.

"Right," said Thomas, his smile breaking through now, "what can you tell me."

Lily snapped to attention, "_The Emerald_ is in good condition sir, winds now light heading North West, no clouds and no sign of a storm, crew seems to be looking good and no ships in sight."

"Good"

"Thank ye captain,"

"Now back to your post Lily."

"Aye, aye Captain," she said and within seconds was halfway up the rigging.

"Is she even human?," the crew member muttered.

"What was that," Thomas asked, pretending as if he hadn't heard.

"Nothing, sir."

--

Lily sat in the crows nest, thinking while looking out at the ocean. She fingered the gold locket around her throat. She didn't know how to open, or even if it did open. Her father had given it to her.

_The smell of blood and gunpowder assaulted 16 year old Lily. She chocked on the fumes as her eyes watered. She looked at the wake of destruction the damn Frogs had left. After attacking the ship they had left her there, helpless. _

_Lily looked frantically around her, looking for the one person-There! Was that him, by the steering wheel, why wasn't he standing up, the ones that had survived the attack were. _

"_Father," se shouted to get his attention, why wasn't he standing up?_

_She ran over to him. He was alive she saw with relief, but he had a gun wound in his chest that was bleeding furiously. She started ripping her shirt and began to bandage him when she felt a hand on top of hers. _

"_Don't," he whispered, "it's too late for me."_

"_You'll be fine Father," she said, fighting to keep her cool, "all we need to do is stop the bleeding."_

_He chuckled softly, "No, it's too late. Here," he took a long golden locket from his neck and put it around hers, "I want you to have this, don't tell anyone about it but keep it safe."_

"_Father?"_

"_Remember, I love you Lily," and with that he closed his eyes. _

_Lily touched the necklace he had given her. "I promise," she whispered, "I will keep it safe and in memory of you."_

_She stood up, and went to find Thompson to inform him of the death of the Captain._

She studied the locked again even though she practically had the look of it memorized. Lily wondered what was so special about it that she needed to keep it secret and safe. It was gold, with a long chain so it slipped between her breasts. It was oval and there was a golden pearl set in the center of the oval.

However mysterious it was, she did have to admit it was beautiful. She wondered where it came from.

She sighed and looked out over the sea, enough musing for now. She smiled and stood up, jumping down and catching a rope. She had a job to do.

**Authors Note:**

**Please tell me what you think. And yes, I know the title is BEYOND cheesy and corny but I couldn't think of anything else. Be nice in your reviews please. BTW, anyone have a name for James' ship, the Marauders is a little over used in my opinion. And finally, I know the idea of a necklace/medallion/whatever is very clichéd buy I couldn't think of anything else, take mercy on me. **

**Much Love, Casey**


	2. Making friendsNOT

A Pirates Life for Me

A Pirates Life for Me

**Author's Note:**

**I don't know if anyone is actually reading this story but if you are, thanks. **

**One thing: I stumbled upon another swashbuckling tale about Lily and James where there is a ship named **_**The Emerald, **_**now I am debating whether to change the name of the ship. I don't want to but I don't want to be accused of copying. In my story, **_**The Emerald**_** got her name from Lily as her father got the ship when she was born. It is a testament to her eyes. **

**Read and Review**

**BTW I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or anything that remotely comes from the books. **

--

Lily felt the sweat trickle down her face but could not spare a hand to wipe it away. He eyes were focused intently on her opponent. She felt her chest rising up and down as she allowed herself to breathe. She stood across from her opponent as the both warily circled each other. A step for a step, identical masks of concentration on their faces, swords held at the ready, waiting for the attack.

The man across from her smiled a superior smile and she could tell what was going on in his mind. In his opinion no _woman _much less a girl would ever beat him. He was so full of smug superiority her lip curled in distaste, she would show him, when the time came. For the moment she was going to let him attack her, let him think her a weak female.

The man snarled and lunged forward suddenly, feinting to the left. Lily simply sidestepped the blow. He came at her again, this time not fainting, simple lunging. She stepped back, out of reach.

"What's that," he taunted, "don't know how to use a sword."

In the crowd surrounding them in a ring, some voiced their agreement with this vile man. Thomas, who stood apart, just shook his head, along with the others who knew her. He felt pity for this man because Thomas knew that he would be trounced by Lily.

Lily stayed silent as they continued to fight. She hardly used the sword which seemed to infuriate the man. She used her agility to keep away from his blade. She snorted to herself, was he so stupid that he couldn't see what she was doing? She was just wearing the fool out, making him slower, angry, and apt to do something stupid. Lily never responded to his jests or mocking, she found keeping silent not only helped her concentrate but either unnerved or enraged her opponent.

Enough of this she thought and as he lunged forward again she parried his blow. He looked shocked for a second, he hadn't expected that. But Lily knew that, that's why she had done it. His surprise slowly turned to a smile as he tried to use his weight against her blade, trying to push it back. It didn't move. Anger flitted through his eyes and he brought his sword back, attempting to make another lunge.

But Lily was too quick for him. Before his muscles could even think about striking her again she leapt to the side and started attacking him ferociously. He blocked her first blow, barely. As she whirled about around him her blows became faster. Left, right, feint.

He tried to put her back on the defensive by lunging forward when Lily, anticipating his movement flipped over his head. As he turned around she snaked her sword around his, and with a simple twist, sent it flying out of his hands. Lily brought her sword up so the tip brushed his neck.

"Do you yield?" She asked quietly. The man nodded, to out of breath to say anything at the moment. He looked at her to find she was hardly breathing hard at all.

Lily turned and started to stride away when the man regained some of his pride and called out to her back, "Next time you won't be so lucky wench."

Anger rose in her body but she refused to let it show, keeping emotions from her face was another thing she was good at. The audacity of him, to say such a thing, and call her a wench!

She turned around and walked back over to the man who was surrounded by his mates now. Lily looked him straight in the eye and tried to keep the smirk off her face, half failing.

"Next time, you'll be smart enough to recognize when your opponent is just tiring you out, so you'll be that much easier to beat." She said. The man gaped at her with shock and fury.

"You little bitch!" He snarled.

Lily just sighed, keeping her temper in reign. "Your very original," she said sarcastically, "you can't say anything about me that I haven't already heard." She held her sword up again, "but if it makes you feel better about losing to a girl, go right ahead, say what you want."

He had no choice, if he wanted to leave with any dignity that is. He knew she would beat him again in another sword battle. He closed his mouth and glared at her as Lily turned and walked away. He spat on the deck.

Lily walked up to Thomas. He looked at her and shook his head, "You probably shouldn't have said those things to Geoffrey, like he needs another reason to dislike you."

"Don't worry Thomas," she said with a smile, "he doesn't dislike me; he despises me. There's a difference."

Thomas just chuckled,"At least someone's having fun."

Lily smiled brightly, "Well you certainly don't have fun, so what else am I for, Cap'n."

"Take your cheek elsewhere lass," he said, not really meaning it.

"Aye Cap'n, I'll be in the look out." And with that Lily scrambled up to the top of the mast.

--

Lily woke up with the midnight bell to start her watch. She looked around her small, one man cabin, and grabbed her clothes and knife, which she tucked into her boot. As a rule she never went out without a weapon, even if it was just a knife. If there was an attack she could simply run down and get her sword.

She could faintly hear the groaning of the other men with this watch in their cabins. Forcing their cold and sleep deprived bodies out of their hammocks. She grinned. Even if she was tired she always liked the night watches. They were her time to think and look at the stars. It was quiet, with only the sound of the waves against the boat breaking the silence.

This night was no different, as she reached the deck she looked towards the sky. It was a cloudless night and one could see the stars clearly against their midnight blue backdrop. Lily climbed so she could sit comfortably in the netting of the rigging. She looked towards the sky, finding the constellations her father had taught her many years ago.

_A warm hand grabbed hers as she looked into her father's hazel eyes. He took her hand and pointed at the stars, making sure she was seeing the same ones he did. _

"_See that one, the one that looks like a W my flower?"_

_She nodded and looked at him for more information. _

"_That's Cassiopeia. She was the wife of King __Cepheus of Ethiopia__. But you see, besides being the wife of a king, Cassiopeia was also very beautiful, and very vain. One day, while she sat coming her lustrous locks she dared to say she was more beautiful the the sea nymphs called Nereids. The Nereids were the daughter of the Nereus, the Old-Man-of- the-Sea."_

_Lily stood silently, her eyes traveling between her father and the stars, her mind enchanted, and ensnared by the tale her father was telling her. _

"_That can't be good," she breathed softly, but her father heard her and laughed quietly. _

"_No it wasn't good. __One of the Nereids, Amphitrite, was married to Poseidon, the sea god. They appealed to Poseidon and asked him to punish Cassiopeia for her vanity."_

"_What did they do father?"_

"_The sea god sent a monster to ravage the coast of King Cepheus's country. To appease the monster, Cepheus and Cassiopeia chained their daughter Andromeda to a rock as a sacrifice, but Andromeda was saved from the monster's jaws by the hero Perseus. But, as an added punishment Cassiopeia was condemned to circle the celestial pole for ever, sometimes hanging upside down in undignified posture. And she still sits in the sky today, combing her hair."_

"_Well," said 7 year old Lily, "after that I'm not so sure I'm as keen on brushing my hair."_

_Her father smiled and kissed her hair, "you and Cassiopeia have something in common, you are both beautiful; though I do hope you are not as vain as she is."_

"_Never," his daughter giggled. _

Lily loved gazing at the stars. They didn't change and whenever she looked at them she was reminded of her father. And, for some strange reason, they reminded her of her mother. She had never met her mom, didn't know if she was dead or not. All her father could say was the last time he and seen her, right after she was born, her mother was alive.

Lily kept hoping that one day she would meet her. Find out if she inherited her brilliant emerald eyes from her mum, as they were obviously not her dads. Her father always told her that Lily's mum had the same fiery spirit that she did.

But the stars were Lily's connection to her far away mum. Lily hoped that if she was alive, maybe she would be looking at the stars too, and thinking of her daughter. After all, they would watch the same stars.

--

It was the end of her watch. Lily yawned and started to make her way below deck. She was walking along the galley when a man stumbled out, clearly drunk. Upon closer inspection, Lily realized this was the man she had fought this morning, what was his name? Geoffrey, right?

Geoffrey caught sight of her and walked unsteadily towards her.

"Pretty wench," he slurred while making a grab for her arm and stepping closer.

"Your drunk," Lily spat at him, hoping he would leave her alone. She could _smell_ the alcohol and rum on him and she rinkled her nose in distaste.

"Nah, I'm not," he said thickly. "How 'bout you and me find a nice and cozy spot on this ship and have some fun," he leered.

"I have no intention of anything of the sort." Lily replied stiffly. This had happened a couple of times to her, but never on the ship, maybe Thomas had been right about these vile men.

"C'mon, I know any wench has her price," he slurred and stepped closer to whisper in her ear, "whatever it is I'm sure I can pay for a slut like you."

"No," Lily pushed him away from her.

"I got in a fight this morn'n the least ye could do would be to give me some _comfort,_" sneering at the word comfort.

That was enough! She had had it. Lily punched him as hard as she could in the jaw, which needless to say, was quite hard. He groaned and held his hand up to his face. She hooked her legs around his ankle and pulled, causing him to topple over in surprise. When he fell, she walked up and put a booted foot on his chest.

"I am not some wench, who will sleep with any scum I come across." She said, her eyes flashing in anger and her voice cold, "You would do better to remember such things next time." And with a calculated kick to his temple, she knocked him unconscious. Hoping he wouldn't remember too much in the morning.

--

This time, Lily woke to the sound of someone banging at the door.

"Oi! Some of us are trying to get some sleep here," someone called from the room next. door.

Lily threw on her clothes and answered the door, so her mates could get some sleep.

"What is it?" She asked a man, whose name she remembered to be Ian."

"The captain wants to see you in his quarters, um…miss…."

"Lily," she finished for him, "Lily Evans."

"Right."

"Thank you," Lily said, before walking down the corridor to the stairs.

Like most times she came on deck in the morning, Lily was momentarily blinded by the sun, which had just risen. She walked over to the Captain's cabin, wondering why she was there. Either it was important, or she was being punished.

She flung the door open, always one for an entrance, but stopped it before it could bang loudly into the wall. Thomas was leaning over his desk looking at a map. He looked up as she opened the door.

"Ah you're here lass," he said.

"So it would seem. Now, are you going to tell me why I'm here?"

"As a matter of fact I am." He said, a small twinkle in his eye. "You see this morning at about 4, when the midnight watch ended, one of the men, Ian, I believe stumbled across something very interesting by the stairs."

Oh, that; or more specifically, him.

"It seems one of the crew was unconscious by the stairway with a split lip and a bruised jaw, clearly he had been in a fight." Thomas fought to keep his smile down. "No one had seen him after he stumbled from the galley so I was wondering if _you _had heard anything."

"No sir," she said; all innocence.

"Well, would you have any idea as to why such an attack would occur."

"It seems to me sir, that as you said 'stumbled' he was drunk and got into a fight with another crew member."

Thomas tried to frown, but found the corners of his mouth turning upward at the mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

"Any reason for this fight you think."

"Well, he could have been boasting about his superiority, but it seems more likely to me sir that he had tried to get a girl to come to his bed with him, when such attention was clearly unwanted."

Thomas sighed, "I thought it would be something like that. I know you would have a good reason to hit a crew member," he looked at her still shining eyes and smile, "well maybe not, but you know this cannot go unpunished. I have to keep some semblance of order on my ship."

Now it was Lily's turn to sigh. "I know captain. What are you going to do to me?"

"You are to scrub the deck, starting now." And with that he handed her a bucket filled with water and a sponge.

Lily sighed, but did not argue. She wasn't mad at Thomas, and she knew he wasn't mad at her. She had hit another crew member and had to be punished, it was his job. And actually, situations like this commonly arose, but normally it was just a simple prank she had played.

"Aye Captain," she responded and walked out the door.

She whistled, Geoffrey had deserved it, the stupid drunk git. She got down on her knees and started to scrub.

**I hope whoever is reading this liked it. I know this chapter is a little dry but I'm pretty sure the Marauders are coming in the next chapter, and if not the chapter after. Please, if you are reading this, write me a review, even if all you say is 'update' or 'liked it'. I would like to know if anyone is actually reading this. **

**Much Love XOXO -Casey**


	3. ATTACK!

A Pirates Life for Me

A Pirates Life for Me

**Thank you for all your lovely reviews, they meant so much to me. After a helpful review (and literature lecture, but hey, I can never resist those) I have decided to keep **_**The Emerald**_**'s name the same. Besides the ship's not going to be around for much longer….ooops….forget I said that. Enjoy!**

Why are some men so _bloody _stupid? They were right in front of her and yet all they could do was argue about who could hold their liquor better. I mean why one earth would any one want to know that? Lily shook her head. Gits

She turned away for the galley after grabbing an apple and went on deck. Using only one hand she climbed up the rigging to the crows nest where she could be in peace.

Thomas had been right about these new men from London. They were vile prats. She hated walking by and seeing lust in their eyes, they didn't even try to hide it. No one had attempted the same thing Geoffrey had, not wanting to receive the same treatment he had. She smiled at that thought. Geoffrey never came close to her unless he had to these days, he preferred to glare at her from afar.

The men had also seen most of her fighting skills; that she couldn't avoid. She had to accept the challenges to fight when they came at her. It was annoying, if she refused they would say she was a weak female to afraid to get her but kicked. But even a fencing, knife fighting, and knife throwing, they had yet to beat her.

Lily didn't want to sound cocky, because she was far from that, but she _was _better then everyone except maybe Thomas. But she never let that thought go through her head in a fight; being over confident was the surest way to get killed. For every skilled fighter, there was a better one.

Looking around she noticed today was different from the rest of the week they'd been sailing. For once the sky held clouds, gray ones too. But from her experience she could tell that it wouldn't be a heavy storm, just a light rain, likely to happen tonight or tomorrow morning. The wind had also changed direction just a little bit, it didn't really matter but she liked to pick up on these things, just in case.

Lily scanned the horizon, watching where blue meets blue. She was looking passed the bow…there….was that something? She could see a small spec. It was the right _size _to be a ship that far off, but from here shape was impossible to determine.

Grabbing a rope, Lily looked on deck until she found the captain. She swung down and dropped right by him.

"Captain, sir, we've got what looks to be a ship sir."

He cocked an eyebrow "Looks to be? Don't you know what a ship looks like?"

"Aye sir, but it's too far off."

"Where?"

"Ten points starboard of the stern sir."

Thomas looked but couldn't see much. Damn, that girl had eyes like a hawk to be able to see anything that far off.

"Pete," he called. The man in question came over. "fetch me my telescope, it's on my desk."

"Aye, Captain."

After the man had run off, Lily looked a Thomas and smirked.

"Those old eyes of yours can't see that far off?" She teased lightly.

Thomas smiled and was about to make a retort when it was cut short by the arrival of Pete; telescope in hand.

"Here you go sir."

"Thank you Pete." He clasped the telescope and set it to focus on the point described by Lily. Ten points starboard off the stern. And there it was, easier to distinguish through the telescope, he could see the clear (but small) outline of a ship.

He sighed, "Your right Lily, as of course you would be, there is a ship there. There further behind so their not even using the same wind as ours."

"Colours sir?" Lily asked.

"Not sure," Thomas took a glance through the glass again. "I can't see any colours, which means that they either have themust , and I can't see it, or they don't fly any colours.

"Pirates; or something else? Mercenaries maybe Thomas?"

"Maybe Lily, I can't tell." With one quick look more he turned and snapped the telescope together. "I would say; more likely pirates."

Thomas looked down at Lily to see her face alive with excitement and her eyes sparkling. "Pirates hmmmm?" She mused. "This is going to be fun."

"You do remember what you have to do Lily?" Thomas asked, worried that she would forget.

She sighed, "Yes Thomas."

With that she scampered across the deck to the stairs leading below. "Make sure to alert everyone," she called over her shoulder at Thomas.

She hurried into her room and shut the door, leaning against it to think. Whenever they were at see and another ship came up, her father always made her disguise herself as a boy. It was frustrating, and annoying, but a good precaution.

"_Lily, can you do something for me?" Her father asked. Lily looked confused but nodded at him to continue. "Whenever you see another ship coming you must disguise yourself as a boy by wearing your hair up and binding your chest._

"_Why father?"_

"_Because if we come across pirates and they see a girl on board, there's no telling what they might do to you." He said seriously, forcing Lily to look him in the eyes. "They might take you away onto their ship for some _fun_ or just rape you. With pirates you never know. But other people besides pirates would do that too, so you have to promise me."_

_She looked into his eyes and knew he was serious and replied firmly, "I understand and I promise father."_

"_Good girl"_

Lily looked around the room, searching for something. There it was! She grabbed a special corset that she had commissioned for just this kind of thing. Lily took her shirt off and put the corset on. When the corset's laces were tightened, it had the effect of hiding her breasts from view, making her flat chested. She had commissioned it specifically though, to make sure that the corset would allow for all maneuverability and so she could breathe in it.

It was made of a lighter material then ladies corsets and there was less stiffening in it. The shape of it over her chest was what allowed her to bind her breasts flat.

Once the laces were tightened she pulled her shirt back on over her head. Once her chest was out of the way, the only thing left to do was put her hair up. Lily loathed cutting her hair, and would only do so if it was entirely necessary for survival. She wound her hair up in a bandana, making sure no long strands were peaking out. This normally worked well for her in battles. She tied the bandana very tightly around her head, making sure it was secure so it wouldn't fall off.

As a finishing touch she grabbed a small knife from her table. Finding a good spot, she carefully inserted it into the folds of the bandana, making sure it was reachable, but where it couldn't fall out.

She grabbed her sword and buckled it around her waste. Following that went a dagger, to her waste; and knives to her boot, back, and wrists. She was ready.

--

Captain James Potter stood at the helm of his boat, with his first mate, Sirius Black, holding the wheel.

James Potter stood 6'2. He was the kind of man that any lady would happily swoon over. He had deep hazel eyes, which were flecked with amber and gold. He was lean and muscled with broad shoulders. His hair was messy and black, currently tied back.

His first mate, Black, was even more handsome, but in a different kind of way. Sirius was more devilishly handsome. He stood at 6'3, with long black hair that he hated to tie into a ponytail so its shaggy ends framed his face. His eyes, once you looked at them, sparkled with mischief but held the tell-tale signs of a ferocious temper in their black depths. His body and James' were similar but Sirius was broader.

A third man approached them on the deck, by the name of Remus Lupin. He was tall, just like his two best mates, and stood at the same height James did. The main difference was Remus was much thinner. He had light brown hair that fell into his blue eyes but wasn't long enough to warrant tying it back.

"Any news, Remus?" The captain asked, smiling at one of his best mates.

"Actually James," Remus said, a mischievous look flitting through his eyes, "Peter says there's a ship about ten points starboard off the bow."

James shielded his eyes from the sun and looked at the corresponding location. "So there is," he chuckled, the sound reverberating through his chest, "what do you say we have some fun today boys?"

They smiled.

--

When Lily stepped back on deck, several things became clear to her mind.

1. The ship was much closer now

2. Thomas had alerted the crew to the presence of said ship

3. They were most obviously pirates.

"Lee," Thomas called, and Lily turned. When she was a boy, Lee was the name she answered too.

"Yes Captain," she replied.

"I want you to go to the lookout, if you see anything unusual tell me, if you see what they are doing, tell me. Got that?" He asked her calmly. How could he be so calm? Lily was nearly bursting with excitement, her first chance to get a real look at pirates!

"Aye sir," she said smoothly and made her way up the rigging.

The other ship wasn't flying any colours, but now that it was closer, she could tell that it was pirates.

She looked up, and if she squinted she could see the tiny figure of _their _watcher in the lookout. She smiled.

"Oi, Captain!" She called down.

"Yes Lee?"

"Their going to cross us."

"Got it, keep looking for anything we can use to our advantage. Can you see their ship name?" He asked, hoping to get some identity as to who their soon-to-be attackers were.

Lily squinted against the light and looked where she knew she would find the name. "Aye sir, it's _The Marauder._"

Thomas thought over the name for a moment, ahhhh, now he remembered. _The Marauder _had a reputation of being ruthless, but not cruel. They were some of the strongest fighters to sail the seas. Their crew was said to be fiercely loyal to their captain, James Potter, and his first and second mate, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

Deep down, Thomas knew they would be hard pressed to win this battle. _The Emerald _was a good, strong ship but it's fighters were not al as good as Lily was. If they were, he might have been worrying less.

Lily meanwhile, wasn't thinking much about the fight to come. It was her strategy, she didn't want to wind herself up to tightly about it. If they won or lost was not just up to her, but her other crew members, whatever happened, happened.

She looked at the three men at the helm of _The Marauder_. They were the obvious leaders. Another man from the ship came to relieve the man on the wheel. Then the three who had been their originally stepped to the rail that was closest to her ship.

The one who had been on the wheel took out his telescope, trying to see more detail about the people on the ship then his naked eyes could make out. Lily watched as the telescope swung back and forth, taking in the ship from stern to bow, and waited for his gaze to fall upon her. Once it did she captured the man's attention.

She smiled, waved, and made a _very _rude hand gesture.

--

James Potter smiled. It had been awhile since they had found into new on pickings this voyage. His men had been getting a little restless, wanting to fight and pillage and plunder. He chuckled; they were pirates to the core.

"What kind of ship is it Peter, and what colours are they flying?" He called to his watcher.

"Merchant sir," Peter's thin replied voice after a slight hesitation, "British."

Ahhhh, better and better. "Name Peter?" He asked.

"I believe it's _The Emerald _sir, don't recognize the name, do you?"

James thought for a moment, the name was vaguely familiar. Where had he heard it? That's right, it was in a pub and some sailors were talking about the death of a captain, Evans, on the ship called _The Emerald_. Unfortunately, that's all James knew about the ship.

"I don't recognize the name either James," came Remus' soft voice from next to him.

"All I know is that their former captain, Captain Evans or something like that, was killed in a run in with the French. " He replied.

A man came up to relieve Sirius of the wheel. Sirius spotted his two friends on the rail and walked over.

"Looks like we got some good pickings today James," he said with a mean smile. "I wonder what they are carrying in that hull of theirs." He took out a telescope and started to look at the ship.

"You do know Sirius," Remus started, "that looking through a telescope is not going to help you see what they are carrying."

Sirius looked over at Remus and said in an offended tone, "I know that, I was just looking at their men. Some of them look like fighters and some don't, but they do have more men." He looked into his spyglass again and traveled up the mast. "They have some scrawny watcher-HEY!" He shouted, jumping up and shaking his fist at the now laughing figure in the lookout.

"You little BASTARD," he spat out.

"What did he do Sirius?" James asked, amused at his friends behavior.

Sirius repeated the hand gesture and both Remus and James laughed.

"It's NOT FUNNY," he roared. This only caused Remus and James to laugh harder.

"Excuse me sir," they looked around and saw Peter looking at them.

"Yes Peter?" James asked, trying to choke down the bits of laughter that wanted to get free.

"The boarding planks are ready and the crew is eager and ready to attack." He said, a happy look on his face.

"All right," James replied, "I'll give the signal.

--

Lily laughed at the reaction of the man to her gesture. She hadn't expected him to get so worked up about it.

Not a minute later she drove all thoughts from her mind as she heard the attack sound.

"FOR GOLD AND RUM, ATTACK" Came the pirate call, and the same time Thomas cried, "FOR GLORY AND HONOR, ATTACK."

And all hell came loose.

The sounds of guns being fired and swords clashing rang through the air, now filled with smoke and gunpowder.

Lily grabbed a rope and swung down to the deck to join in the fray. No way was she going to sit safely in the lookout while others had fun. She jumped down on the back of a pirate attacking a member of her crew, he lost his balance and fell to the floor as a knew weight was added to his back. She hit him on the head with the hilt of her sword, knocking him unconscious.

"Thanks," the crew member said before plunging back into the chaos surrounding them.

She merely nodded and looked around. Seeing a man cornered on the rail and grabbed a rope above her head. She swung down and making eye contact with the man and winked, just before her boot came in contact with the pirates back, knocking him over the edge.

The battle continued this way for a bit, with Lily helping out her crew members and surprising the pirates with her unexpected attacks. She failed to notice that someone was watching her with interest, only half concentrating on his fight.

Remus didn't know what to make of the lad. He kept doing surprising things, but only when a crew member was in trouble. He never seemed to engage the enemy on his own, interesting.

Lily had just knocked another pirate unconscious when she saw something that made her blood freeze. A big man, with black hair and eyes stood over Thomas, ready to kill. She would not let this man kill Thomas, who had been a second father to her. Without thinking about what she was going she grabbed her boot knife and threw it at the pirate.

Sirius stood over the man he presumed to be the captain, ready to strike the killing blow. Normally the pirate captain would kill the other captain but with James it didn't seem to bother him if Sirius did. He was bringing his sword down when he heard Remus call "SIRIUS" he turned around and heard something. He ducked down as a knife flew right through the spot his head had occupied less then a second ago.

Remus had seen the look of hatred cross the lad's face as he saw Sirius and his captain. When the lad snatched a knife and threw it, he did the only thing he could think of. He yelled to Sirius, who just managed to avoid the knife.

For Lily the distraction the knife had created was enough. She leaped forward and brought her sword down in a blow which he parried. Forgetting the captain her opponent focused all his attention on her as they began to fight.

He was strong, stronger then her. She could tell that by his parry, but his strength and size made him slower, she would have to use that to her advantage. She used her small body in ways that retained energy, whipping around his sword instead of blocking it. She knew this man would cause her to reach her limits much faster then anyone had fought before.

She surprised him when as he lunged at her, and used the same trick that she had used against Geoffrey, she flipped over his head and started putting _him _on the defensive. Her attacks used more energy but she knew she would never win if she stayed defensive.

What Lily didn't realize was that most of the fighting had stopped, with only a few squabbles continuing. Some of the men, including the pirates, were watching their battle with interest, wondering how it could be even with such a small lad and such a big man. Remus was one of those watching, so was James. But unlike everyone else Remus did not underestimate this boy. He had been watching and knew that the boy was stronger then he looked to be. As he watched them whirl around the deck, too absorbed to notice anything else, he admired the way the lad used his agility against Sirius' strength. Sirius was a hard man to beat, but this lad might if he kept it up.

Sirius was not the only one surprised when Lily flipped over his hea;, Remus, James, and the rest of the pirates were also surprised. James was more shocked at how quickly Lily recovered, and Remus was shocked at seeing the lad put Sirius on the defensive.

James looked over at Remus, giving him a nod, it was time for this to end. Remus stepped forward and without the lad noticing got close to where he was pushing Sirius back against the rail, intending to knock him out with the hilt of his sword.

Lily had been pushing Sirius back when she noticed his eyes looking over her shoulder at something and connecting with that something. She quickly rolled to the left and stuck her foot out, tripping the man behind her.

James had nodded at Remus to stop this fight. However interesting it was the fight was pointless. He defiantly did not expect the lad to know about Remus coming behind his back but somehow he did. The lad rolled away and stuck his foot out and tripped Remus. That was enough. James came up behind the lad while he was standing up, intending to stop this fight once and for all.

Lily thanked god for the pirate being stupid enough to give her a clue that someone was behind her. She started to stand up when a hand grabbed her arm and felt a sharp pain on her head, before the world turned black.

James looked down at the now unconscious lad. He looked at one of his men and pointed at the boy. "Lock him up with the rest of them," he said before striding back to his ship.

**Like it? Love it? Hate it? Tell me what you think, was the whole switching POV's in the battle too much? I want to know. Thanks again to those who reviewed, and in advance for those who did review. XOXO- Casey**

**PS: Did my reasoning for having Lily be a boy make sense to you all? It made sense to me but I'm not sure how it turned up in the writing. :) -Casey**


	4. Bloody Pirates

A Pirates Life for Me

A Pirates Life for Me

**Hola chicas (y chicos)! Como estas? Bien?**

**I would first like to say that I am sorry for the last chapter because it had a lot of typos in it. I promise to read this one fully through and correct my mistakes. Chapter 3 was written at midnight so I'm glad it was just coherent! Thanks for all the reviews! Also to those who reviewed and gave me ideas on how they find out Lily's secret, thanks for the ideas. But the thing is; I wanted to have her on the ship as a boy **_**before **_**they find it out, just to add some tension. Anyways, enjoy. **

Lily had woken up in the dark, lying on the hard wood floor. Remembering what had happened she was a little annoyed that she had let herself get into this situation. Getting knocked out from behind? Please, that's just sad. She, though her father would die if he knew, had a reputation at being able to get out of any situation. This was killing her rep.

Lily tried to get up, only to find that her ankles and wrists were bound by a thick rope. With a few twists, the rope around her wrists slid off and on the floor. Once her eyes had adjusted, she also noticed there were others surrounding her. It was just dark enough that she couldn't recognize them individually.

Lily stretched her arms, to help the circulation, and chafed her wrists, which were red because of the rope. She also checked to see if the knifes on her wrists and back were still there; they weren't. She untied the rope around her ankles and repeated the stretching process for her legs and feet. Her boot knives were also gone, same with her sword and dagger.

Checking herself, she realized the only weapons she had left was the knife in her bandanna and the one hidden in her corset. She took out the one in her corset because it was thinner and crept over to the door. As she suspected it was locked. She quietly slipped the blade into the lock, readjusting its position until she heard a soft click.

Lily pushed the door open, just a bit and looked through the crack. It was dark, nighttime. Not seeing anyone, she pushed it open just enough so she could slip out. All was quiet on deck. She realized that she was still on _The Emerald, _but the pirates hadn't left either, they were still there. She searched _The Emerald_ for her weapons but they weren't on this ship. Her knives and sword must be on the other ship, with the pirates.

She crept around the deck, looking for any pirates keeping watch. No one was there. She listened closely, and hear loud laughter and raucous singing from _The Marauder_, that explained it, they were all drunk. _Idiots_.

Since she didn't see anyone, she slowly crossed the boarding plank, keeping low and to the shadows. There was a large clump of pirates across the deck, since that's where the singing was, she would've bet that was also where the rum was.

She winced as one of the men tried to hit a note that was _not_ meant for males.

It wasn't very good singing.

She stopped for a minute to organize her thoughts. If she were the captain of this ship, where would she put those weapons? Obvious answer; the captain's cabin, so that was where she was going. Nobody was near the door, but that didn't mean the captain wasn't inside.

That was one conversation Lily did not want to have.

She pushed the door open and crouched down in the shadows, surveying the room. It was messy, with papers on the desk and floor. There was a window on the left and a door off to the right that she knew would lead to the Captain's quarters; it was partially open. The desk was covered in maps, and…long metal objects? Swords?

She walked silently towards the desk. She thanked god for her good night vision, lighting a lamp would have drawn a lot of unwanted attention right now. Sitting on the desk was a mass of swords and knifes from her crew mates. She scanned them until she found the ones she wanted, which were off to the side.

Lily quickly stuck her sword through her belt along with her dagger. Not wasting any time; she tied her wrist knives on, slipped the knife into her boot, and slung the knife onto her back. She heard a sound behind her and tensed, turning around slowly.

--

Something was wrong, at least that's the only reason James could think of when he woke up. Though he could still hear the drunken noise of his crew, all was silent in his cabin.

He was about to roll over and go to sleep, when he heard the soft clink of metal on metal coming from his office. He sat up. His crew knew not to go in there without permission, especially when he was asleep. So who was in there? And better yet; what were they doing?

He quietly rolled out of bed, making sure not to hit the creaky spots on the floor when he got up, and silently padded to the half open door. Leaning against the frame he spotted a small figure by his desk.

This person was not one of his crew members James determined. He didn't look familiar and was too small to be one of his men. James watched as the lad slipped a knife into his boot and one over his back. James' foot slipped and he silently cursed as the boy tensed and slowly turned around. Now James couldn't catch the boy off guard.

When the boy turned around, James was surprised to recognize him as the lad who had fought with Sirius earlier.

--

Lily turned around and saw a figure, in shadow, leaning against the door frame to the captain's room; the captain she figured. Though the rest of his face was in shadow she could see the cold glitter in his eyes. The person took a step forward.

Damn, thought Lily. What is with this ship? Where were they picking up these ridiculously handsome blokes? This man was tall, with deep hazel eyes and messy black hair. He wasn't wearing a shirt and she could see his six pack.

"Now," James said his voice almost friendly, but anyone could hear the hard undertone that promised punishment, "I'm sure you know that waking people up is rude, but as I am now awake, what can I do for you?"

She was in trouble, and she knew it. Lily grabbed a knife and flung it at his head; as soon as the knife left her hand she dashed for the door and slipped out of it before the captain could recover.

James had not been expecting that and only narrowly avoided the knife, which thunked into the door frame where his head had been a second ago. He glanced and saw the door to the deck swinging closed as the lad darted out. He followed, at the same time he put his fingers in his mouth and gave a piercing whistle, the one that signaled an intruder.

Sirius and Remus heard the whistle, as maybe the only other people on board who were sober. They ran to where the captain's cabin was, to see a small figure running away towards the boarding plank. They looked at each other and ran in front of the plank, blocking the figure as James came up behind him.

--

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit, thought Lily, she was trapped. Damn, bloody pirates. Why did she get stuck with the only three who _weren't _drunk. She felt someone come up behind her and reasoned, correctly, that it was the captain.

"Now what do we have here," said one of the men in front of her, whom she recognized as the man she had fought this afternoon.

She didn't have time for this. She needed to get back to _The Emerald _and check on her friends, see if they were ok. Sighing, Lily let her posture sag, as if she was giving in. Seeing them relax slightly she pushed off using her legs and back flipped over the captain behind her.

--

None of them had been expecting that either, but James was the first to recover. He threw himself at the lad now in front of him and knocked him off his feet, trying to pin the boy to the ground.

The boy grunted and kneed him in the stomach slipping out from his grip. But Sirius was too fast for him and grabbed one arm while Remus grabbed the other. As James got up the lad kicked and struggled but couldn't get loose.

--

Lily gave up on fighting, at least, for the moment. With the two of these blokes holding her as tightly as they were, she had no hope of escaping. The captain walked towards her and pulled a knife out of his belt and put it to her neck. She didn't flinch, she didn't even blink. She knew enough not to show fear in front of people like him.

"Now that we've got you," he said coldly, "you are going to answer some questions for us, alright?" It wasn't a question, it was an order.

"First, name?" He asked, but he brought the knife back a couple of inches so it wouldn't cut her while she spoke.

"Lee," she said, lowering her voice to sound like a boy's, "Lee Harris."

"Age?"

Lily thought for a moment, she didn't really look 17 for a girl, so for a boy? "15"

"Alright Lee, the last time I saw you, you were on _The Emerald _tied up in a cabin, what happened."

Lily smiled sweetly and said, "I woke up."

Remus smiled inwardly and the spirit in this boy, Lee. James on the other hand was just frustrated. "I can tell that," he snarled, "I mean why are you here?"

Lily's eyes sparkled; she wanted to see how far she could push this man. "You saw what I was doing in your cabin. You already know the answer to that one."

James growled ferociously and Sirius almost felt sorry for the lad, almost.

"I'm going to try this again," he said, fighting the urge to punch this annoying boy, "How did you get out of that cabin?" He asked, saying each word slowly and clearly as if he was talking to a five year old.

Lily's smile grew, "Through the door."

James snarled; he punched Lily. The force of his punch whipped her head to the side.

"That's nice," she smirked, "hitting a defenseless person; do you do that a lot?"

James was about to punch her again before he caught sight of her eyes. They were sparkling with mischief and victory, then he figured out what the lad was doing. He was deliberately trying to get him to loose his temper. James took a deep breath and calmed down.

"Was the door locked?" He asked, if Lee said 'no' he was going to throw the person responsible off his ship.

"It's not anymore, but it was," she said, seeing that James had figured out she was trying to make him mad and it wouldn't work anymore.

James sighed, he had thought so. Not only was this Lee a good fighter, he could pick locks, and move silently. He had a lot of potential for the pirate business.

"What was your job on the ship?" He asked.

"Watcher."

That was good for James too. He knew Peter hated being the lookout because he wasn't fond of heights. He looked at Sirius and Remus. "Take him to the brig," he ordered, "he's going to come with us."

"Great," Lily sighed sarcastically.

James cut the lines connecting them to _The Emerald, _"It's either that, or get thrown into the ocean, boy; personally I have no problems with dumping you overboard." He said. Lily sighed and he took that as conformation and nodded to Sirius and Remus. "Make sure you get _all _his knives, no mistakes this time. And lock him with those spare handcuffs, they are impossible to get out of." They nodded and dragged Lily behind them, down to the brig.

Lily smiled inwardly, the captain shouldn't have said those handcuffs were impossible to get out off, he should know better, nothing is impossible.

Sirius held her upright while Remus searched her for weapons. He was better then the man who had done it before. He found all the knives, even the one in her bandana, except the one in her corset, for which she thanked god. It would be really awkward and annoying if they figured she was a girl right now.

After one last check Remus locked the handcuffs and took the key. Sirius shut the door behind her and she heard the lock click. Sigh.

--

"James!" called Sirius after they had put the lad away. James turned around and waited for his two best friends to catch up to him.

"Do you really think this is wise James?" Sirius questioned.

"Taking the lad?" Sirius nodded, "There's something about Lee that bothers me and I want to figure out what that is."

Remus nodded, "I've noticed that too."

"Besides," continued James, "you saw how much potential the lad has. He can obviously pick locks, he's also very quiet. I only woke up when he was putting his knifes on. Besides he beat you in a sword fight Sirius."

Sirius growled, "He did NOT beat me."

Remus laughed, "I'm pretty sure if James hadn't come in he would have beaten you, maybe both of us."

"I was seconds away from trouncing the boy," Sirius snarled, "there was no way he would have beaten me."

"Sure," said Remus, clapping Sirius on his shoulder, "if you want to see it that way, fine, whatever makes you happy."

Sirius shook his hand off and bared his teeth, "You'll see. I'll challenge the lad to a duel and beat him, you'll see."

"What are you going to do with Lee?" Remus asked.

James thought for a moment, "You know how the lad said he was a watcher, well I was thinking he could help Peter. You know how much Peter hates being watcher."

Remus nodded, looking thoughtful, "That's a good idea. You don't think Peter will resent it will you? I mean, to him it might look like your replacing him."

"I hadn't thought of that," James mused. "The rest of the crew might not be so happy with that either. We could always make the lad do the dirty work around the ship too, so it doesn't look like's he's replacing Peter.

"That sounds good to _me,_" came a voice and they spun around to see the lad in question walking toward them. Lily held out the handcuffs to Sirius. "Here you go," she said with a smile. The handcuffs were still closed.

--

Contrary to popular opinion, Lily was _not _going to sit in the freezing cold brig all night. As soon as Sirius and Remus were out of sight and hearing range she twisted the handcuffs off, smiling at the memory of the captain saying they were impossible to get off.

"How's that for you," she muttered to herself, holding on to them. She intended to return the handcuffs to the man with long black hair.

She then reached for the knife held in the ribbing of her corset. Ordering that corset with a slot there was the one of the smartest things she'd ever done. Lily was going to have to recommend it to her friends at home (the ones who actually wore corsets), it would be good protection for walking around the streets.

Reaching through the bars in the door she quietly slid the knife into the lock until it clicked. She smiled slightly and replaced the knife, pushing the door open and walking out. She heard a murmur of voices and decided to follow and see what they were talking about. Lily quickly identified the Captain's voice and reasoned the other two would be there with him.

She stopped in the shadows close to them and listened in on their conversation, debating whether to expose herself. She didn't think they would hurt her, but you never knew.

Lily realized they were talking about _her. _ She heard Sirius saying he would challenge her to a duel and covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing. Of course, she wouldn't actually mind another chance to fight this man; he was very, very good at swordplay. Lily also liked the plans James had for her on _The Marauder. _She decided to tell him so.

She smirked and sauntered towards them. "That sounds good to me," she said. Lily giggled at the identical expressions of shock on their faces before they recovered from her sudden appearance. She held the handcuffs out to Sirius, who was still staring blankly at her. Sighing, she grabbed his hand, put the cuffs in his palm, and closed his fingers around them. Did she have to do everything here?

Sirius seemed to recover when she put the cold metal in the palm of his hand. "H-how did you get out of them?" He asked.

She looked at him scornfully, "Do you actually think I would tell _you_?"

Sirius bristled, "You'll tell me if I want you to. I am first mate on this ship and you do what I want."

Smiling, Lily cocked an eyebrow at him.

James interrupted, angry that this boy had gotten out. "A better question is how got out so fast." He turned to Remus, "I thought you had gotten _all_ her knives Remus."

Remus just looked confused. "I did," he said, "I even found the one in his bandana!"

"You know," Lily butted in, "there are more tools then knives that can pick locks."

"Oh," James snarled, "did you use lock picksthen?"

"No," she shrugged, "but I wanted to make sure you knew that."

**A/N: This is how conversations between me and my brother normally go; except we don't normally talk about picking locks, though I have actually done that, but anyways that's where I get my inspiration from.**

It took James A LOT of effort to stop himself from punching the lad, or throwing him overboard, or cutting his tongue out, or any number of things that would make him feel better.

Sirius on the other hand, punched Lily. His punch was harder then James'. When her head stopped spinning, she spat out some of the blood in her mouth at his feet. She looked scornfully between him and the captain, "Huh, like captain like….what was it you were, cook?" She asked, knowing full well that he was the first mate.

Sirius lunged for her but James and Remus grabbed him as Lily danced out of the way.

"First mate," he told her through clenched teeth.

"Sirius," Remus warned.

"Ahh, so the dog has a name," Lily said while smiling. It was the easiest thing to get under this man, Sirius' skin.

Sirius tried to jump for her again but James and Remus held on.

James glared at Lily, "Not another word," he said threateningly, "or I'll cut out your tongue."

Lily completely ignored him and turned her body so he wasn't in her line of sight and faced Remus. "So if he has a name, you must too?" She asked.

Remus smiled, the lad might be annoying but he liked the boy's sense of humor. "Remus Lupin, second mate on _The Marauder,_" he said, reaching an arm out from behind Sirius to shake Lily's hand.

"Does the dog have a last name?" She inquired, her smile growing larger as she hear Sirius growl.

"Black, Sirius Black," replied Remus.

Lily turned to Sirius, "Will you forgive me if I don't shake your hand just now?" She asked. "I don't think you'd be able to resist tossing me into the sea."

James groaned inwardly. Why did this lad have such an annoying effect on people? Sirius never really watched his temper but _he _did. James rarely got mad in front of anyone and earlier this night he had done just that with Lee goading him on. This was going to be a _long _voyage.

Lily turned to James, who was on Sirius' other side, "And we save the most important for last," she smirked, "Captain-"

"-Potter," he filled in, "James Potter." He didn't stretch out his hand for her to shake, and neither did she.

By this time, a crowd of drunken pirates had noticed that something was going on. They had gathered nearby to watch what was going on and to see who was antagonizing their Captain and first mate.

After a moment of silence from Sirius, James deemed it was time to let him go. He and Remus released the arms they were holding.

Mistake

Sirius lunged forward, intending to wrap his hands around the neck of the little brat. But anger had made him foolish and Lily was too fast for him. She stepped to the side. Sirius hadn't expected that and stumbled. Lily took advantage of that and while he was off balance she pushed him to the ground, a knife suddenly appearing in her hand, which she placed on his neck.

"Now that wasn't very nice," she said cheerfully. "Besides didn't your fighting instructor _ever _teach you not to attack in anger? It was the first thing I learned."

Sirius narrowed his eyes but didn't make a sound or move.

Lily ignored him and continued, "If I let you up do you promise not to attack me?" She didn't really expect an answer but took his silence as a conformation. She slowly pulled the knife away from his neck and let him stand up. To her surprise, he didn't attack, just brushed his clothes. "Here you go," she said and handed him the knife hilt first."

"I have my own," he snarled. When Lily inclined her head towards his belt he looked down and found his knife was missing. On closer inspection the knife she was holding was, in fact, his.

Lily looked at James. "Locking me up may be fun for you, but it's just annoying for me. Do you think this time you could just show me where I can sleep?"

James looked at her and sighed, "If I lock you up will you just get out again?" He asked.

Lily smiled, "Yes."

"Remus," James said, "show him to one of the one-man cabins. I'm afraid if we put him with the rest of the crew they'll go insane." Lily smiled widened and she laughed.

"Probably," she agreed, "I seem to have that effect on most people."

"Come on," Remus said and led her below to one of those little rooms meant for one person. "You can sleep in here."

"Thanks," she said, and smiled.

He looked at her, "You really do have a talent for annoying people don't you."

She smirked, "I think I even annoyed my parents in the cradle.

He laughed; she liked the sound of his laugh. It was light and carefree and totally honest. "I'll leave you to sleep then." He said before walking out and closing the door behind him.

Remus was still laughing as he walked away.

**He guys, what did you think of this one? It's fairly long, at least for me. I hope you liked this. I wanted to show off Lily's sassy attitude in this chapter. FYI: if I was on a pirate ship I would totally try and annoy everyone as much as I could, I do that wherever I go anyways :) Review if you feel like it. Next update should be soon. **

**Luv y'all -Casey**


	5. Midnight Fights and Treasure

A Pirates Life for Me

**I finally realized what a hypocrite I am. I always PM others and say stuff like "please, please, update your stories. It's not fair to your readers to leave a story hanging for so long." And then I realized that's exactly what I had been doing. But I think I've got the plot straightened out and I'm sailing on ahead with this story!**

**Thanks for being so patient and thanks to the wonderful people who have reviewed; it is because of you I haven't forgotten this story completely. –XOXO Casey**

It was dark out. Lily always felt at home in the night, just the whisper of the waves and the creaking of the ship, the boat seemed to be gently rocking her, creating an atmosphere of peace and solitude.

It was another cloudless night out, and the stars shone like diamonds in the sky. The moon seemed to cast just as much light as the sun had, but bathing everything in silver instead of gold.

Lily was sitting in the crows nest. She wasn't entirely sure if she was supposed to be there, it wasn't her watch, but no one seemed to notice. As softly as possible, Lily hummed a lullaby that her father had taught her. She was trying to take her mind off of things. Her first couple of days on _The Marauder _had been, well, interesting.

Interesting was an understatement actually. The crew didn't like her, especially Peter, whose position she seemed to inadvertently taken. They took every opportunity to trip her and call her things like "squirt" or "the shrimp". And her sharp tongue had earned her more enemies then friends. She recalled a particular episode that had occurred today.

Lily had been scrubbing the deck when two of the men, Jem and Shane, had come up on either side of her……..

Lily gritted her teeth, she didn't like these two. They were turning the rest of the crew against her. She was scrubbing the deck now because of them. They had injured some men and told the captain it was her fault.

"Well, looki't what we got here" said Jem, turning to Shane with a smirk.

Shane pretended to look thoughtful for a second. "Well," he drawled out, "it's small, dirty, it's on four legs, looks like we got a mangy little _dog _here Jem. What say you?"

Lily clenched her fists, how dare they! But she continued to scrub, knowing someone would tell the captain she ad been shirking her duties if she took the time to yell at these two.

"I agree," said Jem. They both looked down at her, waiting for something.

She kept quiet.

Shane kicked her. "Look at us when we are talking to you, mutt."

Lily kept scrubbing furiously, not letting them hear the satisfaction of her gasp of pain as Shane's boot connected with her ribs. There was going to be a bruise there tomorrow. She just wanted them to go away.

Jem was becoming more and more angry by the second, he wasn't one to hold his temper.

"Answer us!" Jem yelled, kicking her again.

"His mother must have been a whore to produce such an ugly dog," said Shane conversationally.

That was it. Lily, in a blinding movement, grabbed the bucket and swung it around, hitting Jem in the head. She twisted her body on the deck and kicked Shane's feet out from under him, sending him crashing to the deck. She stood up, fury sparking in her eyes but controlled her voice.

"My mother?" She asked innocently, "Don't be like that. We both know your ma had to blindfold your pa to get him into bed with her." Then she walked away….

Even the memory of the episode made Lily mad. She hated bastards like that. Lily could only imagine what they would do if they ever knew that she was really a girl. She sighed, she was sure to get some kind of punishment duty tomorrow. If that was the case it was time to go to bed.

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Lily woke up to sounds in the corridor outside her tiny room. She was about to roll over and go back to sleep when she heard the lock jingle.

Someone was trying to pick the lock to her room!

Trying not to make any noise, Lily pulled a shirt over the corset she slept in, grabbed her book knife, as well as reaching of the one she kept under her pillow, and quickly wrapped her hair in her bandana. Hearing the men outside her door were about to come in, she rolled over and pretended to be asleep.

Ughh, good lord, she could _smell _the rum from here. The idiots were drunk. At least it would make them clumsy and if it came to a fight she could use that to her advantage.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" She heard a voice that was all too familiar ask. It was Shane, and she would bet her front teeth that the other man was Jem.

"The brat deserves it," Jem hissed. "Did you hear what he said about my ma today? He deserves to be punished."

"What are we going to do?" Asked Shane.

"Just give him a bit of a startle. We'll creep over to his bed and get out our knives. Then you will wake him up and we'll give him a bit of a _talking _to.

Cowards, thought Lily, attacking in the dark when they thought they had the advantage is about as low as it gets. She gripped the knives harder in her hands.

When they were about a foot away from the bed she leapt up, flinging the covers off her bed.

"Arggggghhhhhhhhhh!" Shouted Shane has he became entangled in the sheets while trying to get out.

Jem lunged for her, his knife in his outstretched hand. She dodged easily and tripped Shane, who was still struggling in the sheets.

Lily stumbled wall and Jem used that to his advantage, grabbing her neck and throwing her against the wall. He stood in front of her, trapping her against the wall. But before he could do anything, she slid down and kicked his legs out from under him.

Lily grabbed his head and put her knife to his throat just as Shane untangled himself. Seeing his companion, Shane snarled and leapt for her.

"Enough!" Shouted a voice.

Shane stopped moving and they all three looked at the door though Lily never loosened her grip on Jem.

Standing there, with a furious expression, was Captain Potter. Most of his crew, including Black and Lupin surrounded him with expressions ranging from anticipation to humor

Lily winced at the expression on his face, it promised pain for all.

"Captain," she acknowledged with a slight tilt of her head in his direction.

"What is going on here?" He asked, deadly quiet.

"Sir, he was trying to kill us!" Spoke Jem in a rush. "See the knife to my neck? He's a murderer!"

Potter looked thoughtful, "And yet Jem, you're in _his _room. So your saying Lee wanted revenge, crept to your rooms, then dragged you back here to kill you?" He looked at the rest of the crew, "Seems a little silly doesn't it?"

Jem and Shane paled.

"Besides there was such a ruckus in here that one of my crew had to wake me up. If Lee wanted to kill you, he could've just slit your throats and been done with it."

Jem shivered, he could feel the coldness in the captain's voice.

"Sirius," said Potter. "It seems like Shane and Jem want a visit to the brig, keep them there for a day or two. And don't forget to limit their rum rations, they've been using their privileges much too liberally."

Sirius walked forward and grabbed Shane, he walked over to where Lily was still standing, her knife still to Jem's neck.

"You can let him go now," he told her, smirking a little bit. Lily pulled the knife away from Jem's neck and took a step back. Sirius led the two men out.

She sat down, and pulled her boots on; it was about time to get up anyway. Someone coughed and she looked up.

"Are you ok?" asked the Captain.

"Peachy," she said sweetly, a false smile fixed on her face. She continued lacing her boots up.

She heard a sigh, and the sound of footsteps reassured her that everyone was gone. All she wanted to do right now was scream! And getting Jem and Shane in trouble had not been part of the plan, like they needed another reason to hate her. Still fuming, she flung her knife into the door as hard as possible. Lily heard a quiet laugh. Remus had been standing in the hall, waiting to talk to her.

"You already have quite a few similar dents in the door," he remarked.

"Anger therapy" was her reply. Remus laughed again.

"I am sorry for the way they have been treating you. They just don't understand why the Captain took you on."

Lily sighed, "I'm not even sure _I_ understand why I'm here."

"Well," said emus, trying to figure out the right words, "James saw that you had a lot of potential, and he's not normally wrong about that kind of thing. Besides, I think you intrigue him."

"Oh," muttered Lily, "lucky me."

"I don't think they will bother you much after this. Most of the crew arrived in time to see you slide down the wall and kick Jem's feet from under him then grab him. It was some pretty good fighting work that. Who taught you?"

"My father," replied Lily, "he started me with weapons when I was six or seven. Everyone on the ship pitched in and taught me things, like the knife throwing, one of the sailors even taught me how to fight with staffs."

"I'd like to see that" said Remus thoughtfully.

"It's really useful, staff fighting can be applied to any sort of fighting art, and its damn nice to know when you don't have a sword, and used correctly it can even block a sword."

Remus smiled, "want to teach me," he asked.

Lily was taken aback for a second, "Umm, sure," she said, "when?"

"I'll find you at about three this afternoon, sound good?"

"Ok"

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Lily wondered whether agreeing to teach the Second Mate was really a good idea. She hadn't been lying when she said staff fighting was a useful skill, but she didn't want to show off her abilities with it either. It might seem like she was trying to show the men up.

It's a little late for that know, she thought as she carved down to pieces of wood till they were about the right size.

Lupin came up to her, "You ready?" He asked.

"Are you?" She shot back. He chuckled again.

"You've got a point," he said, "just, please don't destroy me, I do have a reputation to keep on this ship."

Now it was her turn to laugh.

Remus looked at her oddly. To him it seemed unusual for a boy to have such a ringing laugh.

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Remus wiped the sweat from his head as he walked back to the captain's cabin.

He opened the door to see James and Sirius peering over a map, per usual. They both looked up as he entered.

James looked at him quizzically, "What have you been doing that requires you to sweat so much?"

"I had the lad, Lee, teach me some staff fighting, and he's really good."

"Staff fighting," said Sirius, raising his eyebrow.

"Yes," said Remus firmly, "here I'll show you something. Pick up your sword Sirius."

Sirius obeyed, grabbing his sword from his desk.

Remus held up his staff, a thick thing made of wood. "I want you to come at me with your sword, straight at me, as hard as if this were a fight to the death."

Sirius looked uneasily at James, he nodded. "All right," he said, "don't complain to me if I hurt you." Remus smiled.

Sirius lunged forward, intending to use an overhead chop on Remus. At the last second Remus raised his staff overhead and Sirius's sword thunked deeply into the wood, Remus twisted his staff fiercely and the sword flew out of Sirius's grasp and landed on the floor.

Sirius looked confusedly at the hand he had been holding his sword in. It was still clenched, as if he was still holding the sword. He stared at it blankly, his mouth open, as if trying to figure out what had happened.

A musical laugh came from the door and the three of them whipped around to see Lee standing there with a tray balanced easily in his hands.

"Don't look so surprised," he told Sirius, who still stared blankly. Lee shook his head and walked passed them, placing the tray of food on the table. As he walked past Sirius he put a hand on his chin and closed his jaws. Sirius snapped awake and jolted back.

"There we go, much better," remarked the lad and leaned forward to pat his head condescendingly. He turned towards Remus.

"You learn fast, that was very well done," he said, "I couldn't have done it any better." And with that he walked out.

James and Remus burst out laughing.

"You, sh-should, have, s-seen, your face," said James between chuckles.

"It's not funny," said Sirius.

"You gotta admit mate," said Remus, "it was funny."

Sirius glared.

"Come on," said James, "let's be serious."

Sirius opened his mouth-

"Don't you dare even think about it," said James.

Sirius shut his mouth.

"I actually do have something important to discuss today," said James. "As you know, we have been looking for the key to Cassiopeia's Treasure and haven't gotten anywhere. But while we were raiding _The Emerald_ I found a painting in the Captain's cabin, it had been hidden away, but it showed a woman, a lady, wearing the key.

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What! mouthed Lily. She had, um, _accidentally_ over heard the last part of their conversation. It wasn't her fault if her head decided to rest right below the window of the captain's cabin!

Cassiopeia's Treasure…what the hell was that! And there was no painting of a woman wearing a key on _The Emerald, _was there?

She pressed her ear harder to the window frame.

"See the necklace the lady is wearing," she heard the Captain say, "it fits exactly the description of the key the man gave us."

"I dunno," came Sirius's faint voice, "It just looks like another necklace to me.

There was some soft murmuring and then Lily heard Remus agreeing with James.

"We can at least give it a shot." He said, "by the date this portrait was painted 17 years ago, and there's a name too, Lady Elaine Johnston. She doesn't look old enough to have died since then."

"But how do we know who this Lady Elaine is, or where she is?" Hissed Sirius.

"Well," said James slowly, "when I was younger, men spoke of the great beauty of a Lady Elaine, who lived by Port Asience. She was distantly related to the queen and supposedly a kind soul to all. Why don't we try there? In fact, Asience is only a day away from our current position and the men have been grumbling about setting foot on land for weeks. It fits all situations."

"I think it's a good idea James." Said Remus.

"Aye," she heard Sirius, "I'll go change our direction".

Lily scrambled away from the window and looked busy as Sirius came out of the cabin.

Well, one thing was certain; she absolutely had to see this portrait. She'd never seen such a thing on board _The Emerald _and besides, she wanted to know about the key.

She thought of what her father would say. Lily sighed; her father would have said curiosity killed the cat. Actually, a lot of people said that to her.

She grinned, but satisfaction brought it back, she thought. Then her grin fell-

Damn, this meant sneaking in to Potter's cabin again.

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**Hey, how was it? The problem with this chapter in my opinion is that I know what I want to happen once they are in port but I had to have a filler chapter. Tell me what you thought. I personally don't think it was one of my best but oh well. I've had a couple of reviews telling me that my Lily is just a _bit _to ridiculously good, and I thank those hat send them. I understand how important it is not to have a perfect character, but bear with me. Lily isn't perfect, just a wicked good fighter and good at analyzing other's weaknesses. That's all I wanted to say. REVIEW **

**Please –XOXO Casey**


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